


A New Adventure

by writerkat



Category: Up (2009), WALL-E (2008)
Genre: Crossover, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Russell became a roboticist, The Axiom, mentions of the robots, sort of in line with the 'pixar theory' of connected movies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 21:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11216691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerkat/pseuds/writerkat
Summary: Before departing for his duties on the Axiom, Captain Reardon has one last conversation with his father. Who gives him one last gift, and one last piece of advice for his journeys through the stars.





	A New Adventure

“Dad? Dad?” The old man looked up when he heard the voice calling his name, and saw a younger man standing there. The elder smiled at his son, brushing back what was left of his hair as he carefully stood up from his old armchair.

“Well hey, don't you look all spick and span in your new uniform there? What? Is my son too old to give his dad a hug, now?” The young man chuckled, and bend over to hug his father, stooped over with age. “There, that's better, isn't it?” Father pulled away from son, and placed his hands on his chest, looking him over. “Just look at you. 'Captain Carl Reardon'. Got a nice ring to it.”

“Dad,” Carl chuckled, brushing off his uniform jacket as his father let go of him, “it's not that big a deal.”

“Not that big a deal?” The old man laughed. “You're going to be the captain of the fleet's crown jewel, my boy! The Axiom herself. Your old man's masterpiece.” He gave him a nudge and smiled. “Seems like a pretty big deal to me.” Carl smiled, and crossed his arms over his chest self-consciously.

“Heh, yeah. I guess.” He smiled faintly, shifting his arms, but then looked appealingly to his father. “It's not too late, you know. I have captain's privileges. I could get you on there with me. You said it yourself, that ship is your masterpiece. Don't you want to be able to see it in action?” The old man smiled, but shook his head.

“No, Carl. It's tempting, but you know we still have plenty of work to do. What with my DUGs and all the other ships to oversee maintenance on. It's just too busy for me to go just yet.”

“I thought they were calling them WALL-Es, dad?” Carl asked curiously. His father let out a harsh 'bah' of contempt.

“They can call em whatever they renamed them all they want. But they're always going to be DUG in my heart.” He huffed, but quickly regained his smile. “In any case, I know they'll have it all cleaned up before you know it. The ELLIEs, or the 'EVEs' I guess, they'll let you know when it's time to come back home. I'll miss you, sure, but I know it won't be long before we see each other again. It's only seven years. I'm not _that_ old yet, you know, son.” He gave his son a pat on the shoulder, a wistfull expression on his face. “I designed all those ships' autopilots myself, you know. I trust old KEVIN. She'll do whatever's best to keep you and all your passengers safe and sound.”

“I, uh, think they gave 'Kevin' a boys' voice, dad,” Carl coughed. “And they introduced the crew to her as 'AUTO'.” The old man made another derisive grunt, but made no comment on it.

His father seemed to contemplate something, looking to the ground, but before he could open his mouth, a knock sounded at the door. A woman in a labcoat peeked in, nodding respectfully to the two before speaking.

“Captain Reardon. Doctor Reardon. The President is ready to speak with you both.” She popped back out of the room, while the old man huffed.

“How many times do I have to tell these scientists that they can just call me 'Russell'? Makes me sound old and stuffy when they call me 'doctor'.” His son stifled a laugh. Shakng his head, Russell smiled up at his son, and reached into his pocket. “Before we go out there, Carl, there's something I need to give you. Close your eyes a minute.” His son obeyed, and waited while he felt his father messing around with something on his chest. “Alright, go on ahead and open em up.” Carl opened his eyes and looked down. His father had opened up his jacket and, on his undershirt, had pinned what looked like an old bottle cap. Worn away with time so that all that showed was the silvery metal it was made from.

“... You're giving me your adventuring badge?” He asked in awe, gently touching the old relic he remembered always seeing in his childhood home. Russel smiled, and placed a hand again on his son's chest, right over his heart.

“My boy, meeting your mother, having you, making all these amazing machines. It's been an adventure of a lifetime. And I'm glad I did it... A long time ago, I went on a great, big adventure with someone, and he showed me how amazing it can be. And now... now I get the chance to see my son go off on one of his own.” He straightened and re-fastened his son's coat, smiling all the while. “I still have plenty of adventures left for me on our planet here, but you? You're ready to have an adventure on a whole other level. I'm staying here, cleaning up our world so that when you and your kids come back, they can all have their own adventures, see the world in ways maybe you or I never will.” Young Carl could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but Russell just wiped them gently away, and once again touched the place where the old bottle cap just barely made a rise under his clothes. “Your old man's had his adventures, son. Now it's time to go and have your own.”

 


End file.
